Evaluation of the U.S Goverment

By: Sadie Farnworth

Evaluation of the U.S Goverment

By: Sadie Farnworth

Form a More Perfect Union

The picture above is a political cartoon showing the issues between the national and state governments. An issue currently occurring during the age we live in today is the issue of legalizing medical marijuana. This is infringing on the phrase in the constitution “In order to form a more perfect union” which means to manage conflict and be united in all values. The issue today is that some states such as Colorado have passed a law saying that the use of medical marijuana is legal. However, the federal government has not recognized this as an active law, and still believes that all use of selling and using marijuana is legal. This is causing a lot of conflict because people who are currently involved in the use of medical marijuana could be arrested by the government. The judicial branch as well as the executive branch are not doing a good job to fix this issue.

The picture above is a good example of how national and state governments work together. The state government's are good at enforcing laws made by the federal government, and maintaining order in each state. Some examples of this could be that each state follows the minimum drinking age, the minimum smoking age, and the minimum age someone has to be in order to drive. Lastly, a different example could be how the states shut down all government programs when it shut down. The branches envolved in this artifact are mainly the legislative and judicial branches.

Establish Justice

NEW YORK (AP) - "Osama bin Laden's son-in-law was introduced to prospective jurors Monday at the start of his trial on charges that he conspired to kill Americans and support terrorists in his role as al-Qaeda's spokesman after the Sept. 11 attacks." That is a piece of an article printed by the Detroit Free Press which explained how the son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden was receiving a fair trail for the 9/11 attacks. This is showing that even though americans highly despise anyone invlolved in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we as the citizens of the United States believe that they should still receive a fair trial. The main branch of government explained in this article is the judicial branch.

The picture above is addressing the problems currently arising with the issue of a right to a fair and speedy trial. Many convicted citizens are not receiving a speedy trial, and often wait many months before being awarded their right to appear in court. This picture is saying that anyone who is not given their right to a speedy trial is automatically given sympathy in court. This is an issue mainly involving the judicial branch.

Insure Domestic Tranquility

"The Real Problem

Illegal immigration into the United States is massive in scale. More than 10 million undocumented aliens currently reside in the U.S., and that population is growing by 700,000 per year.[1] On one hand, the presence of so many aliens is a powerful testament to the attractiveness of America. On the other hand, it is a sign of how dangerously open our borders are."

An example of the issues arising with insuring domestic tranquility is the problem of illegal immigration. This is described in the above paragraph taken from an article published by the heritage foundation. It explains how our borders are weak, and lack the security necessary to keep illegal immigrants from entering the United States. The article also explains how America currently holds over 10 million illegal immigrants, and how that number of illegal people is affecting our society. This issue mainly involves the judicial and executive branches because they are currently trying to create new immigration laws.

The above picture is showing how law enforcement does a good job of insuring peace and order in the United States. They are in charge of enforcing laws and they keep order by disciplining citizens who do not follow the laws of our nation. This picture is also showing how traffic rules, lights, speed limits, and various traffic laws help maintain peace in our society. This picture is mainly addressing the judicial branch because they are in charge of interpreting these laws and punishing those who do not follow them.

Provide For the Common Defense

This cartoon is showing one of the controversial issues of providing for the common defense. In this picture one of the TSA members is saying how a little girl holding a teddy near and a bouncy ball is a highly dangerous security threat. Then, a different TSA agent says "PATDOWN". This cartoon is explaining how some Americans believe that pat downs at airports have gotten out of hand, and that they should not pat down small children. Some believe that TSA goes above and beyond providing national security, and that they should cut back on their actions. This issue has to deal with the legislative branch because they make laws that allow TSA to perform these actions.

This quote by Elmer Davis is explaining how the United States will only remain the country of freedom if our armed forces continue to fight for our freedom. Our armed forces are an excellent example of how America excels at providing for the common defense. They are what keeps our country the way it is, and provides national security for the citizens who live in the nation of the free. Our armed forces are run by the executive branch, which is why this quote mainly includes the executive branch.

Promote the General Welfare

Raising the minimum wage from 7.25 an hour to 10.10 an hour is one way president Obama is trying to promote the general welfare. He believes that raising the minimum wage will decrease poverty and bring the lower class American people into the middle class. However, this can raise many issues. For example, if a company has to pay its workers almost 3 dollars more an hour, they may cut back on the number of workers they have in order to save money. Companies could also go broke faster, and more businesses could go out of business. It also could cause prices to go up, which is shown in the cartoon below when burgers go from 99 cents to 1.29 $.This issue involves the use of all three branches, because the executive branch wants the law to be put into place, the legislative branch must create the law, and the judicial branch must decide if this new law should be created.

"Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 39 fellow Republicans are attempting to use a rarely used legislative tactic to block planned Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas standards that would limit the amount of carbon new power plants can emit."-Fox News

This article is showing the feud between banning the use of coal plants as well as carbon power. Obama and his administration believe that creating a new law which restricts the amount of carbon power plants can emit will allow the United States to have cleaner air. They are trying to limit the amount of waste that goes into the air, however, most republicans disagree with them, and believe that coal is a more efficient use and that creating greenhouse gas standards would only cause more issues to arise. This also requires the use of all three branches for the same reasons as the above paragraph.

Secure the Blessings of Liberty

An issue arising today from securing the blessings of liberty in the United States is gay marriage. Currently, some states do not recognize gay marriage as legal and do not provide married gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. This is causing controversy because many people, not just gay couples, believe that their rights are being infringed upon and that their rights are not being protected. This issue involves mainly the legislative and judicial branches because they are in charge of creating and interpreting laws that would allow gay people the right to marry.

Another reason securing our blessings of liberty has been creating issues is because of the idea of banning guns. Many people believe that banning guns in America would reduce the amount of violence as well as the amount of deaths in the United States. However, many people have protested against this law because they believe it is infringing upon their second amendment rights. (This is shown in the picture above). They believe that banning guns would take away some of their individual rights. This issue involves the execrative branch because the idea of banning guns was supported by president Obama. It also involves the judicial and legislative branches because they interpret and make the laws which could include banning guns.

Final Evaluation

Based on the fact that the United States government does not do a good job of keeping our union formed, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of our liberties, I give the United States government a B-. Our government does not do an efficient job in maintaining peace between the federal and state governments, which can be shown in the battle against legalizing marijuana. The fact that certain states have overridden federal laws against selling and using marijuana tells you that our government is not as strong as it should be. However, the local governments are normally decent at enforcing laws set by the federal government. Our government is also very proficient at establishing justice in our society. This was evident in the fact that the son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden, a well-known terrorist in the United States, was still given a free trial despite his relation to Osama. Another piece of the preamble that our government is enforcing well is insuring domestic tranquility as well as peace at home. Providing for the common defense is also a skill of our government. Our armed forces are the reason our country is so sovereign and influential in the world. They keep conflict such as terrorist attacks as well as wars from occurring in our country. However, some may say that security at our airports goes above and beyond what should be done. For example, at airports, the TSA often pat down young children even though they do not look suspicious. Promoting the general welfare is something else that the government does not do a proficient job at. The laws they are creating now do not so much benefit the people of the United States as it benefits the government. For example, the new increase of minimum wage would only damper businesses as well as raise taxes on businesses. Similarly, the new law on limiting the use of carbon from power plants could cost companies a lot of money, and could hurt the employees working there. The final part of the preamble that the government is not enforcing well is securing the blessings of liberty. They have been trying to take away guns, which people believe are their right to own. Similarly, gay marriages are not recognized by multiple states, which infringes upon their right to marry. Because the government has not been protecting our rights, providing us with services, or managing conflict within our country well, their letter grade has dropped from an A to a B- because they are not doing an efficient job of performing the tasks our founding fathers expected the United States government to do.